• Published 9th Sep 2012
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Pony POV Series Season Six: Dark World/Shining Armor - Alex Warlorn



Twilight tries to remember herself after 1K years of chaos/Shining Armor awakes on his promotion day

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Episode 130: (Shining Armor) "potS nedduS ehT s'tI-Its The Sudden Stop" Part 1

My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
Pony POV Series
Shining Armor Chapter 16 Part 1
"potS nedduS ehT s'tI-Its The Sudden Stop"
Written by Kendell2 and lz0291
Edited by Alex Warlorn and Louis

"My Little Ponies, you can calm down now," Princess Celestia stated cheerfully as another guard carefully filled her tea cup.

Meanwhile, a dragon around who towered over us filled a cup for the Dragon-Queen, who towered over him. Yes, calm down, this was a perfect time to be calm, why wouldn't I be? Oh Celestia she's looking at me.

"Yes, little ponies, Celestia strives not to harm any of our children, and a dragon would do nothing to a friend they do not desire for themselves. We would not think of harming her children unprovoked," said the central head of the Mother of All Dragons.

Got it, unprovoked, I'll just sit here doing, nothing and let the two goddesses chat, and try not to insult the dragon queen's taste in perfume by gagging on the eggy stench of sulfur...

"So, the Hooviets were lying. I assumed as much," Celestia remarked. "That Empire was built on lies. I mean, I am willing to bend the truth if I absolutely must, but Equestria is built on trust, friendship, and truth for good reason."

Tiamat's heads nodded. "Yes, we agree completely. Never been fond of falsehoods ourselves, after all, a dragon who cannot claim his deeds is giving something up, and dragons are not welcoming of such things."

"Still, that was a rather outrageous lie...By the way, nice use of my sun for a dramatic entrance, Tiamat, one of the most impressive I've seen."

"Thank you, Celestia. Still, let us not give those warmongering conquers their due. Now about the migration path..."

"Yes, back to that. Ponyville's Mayor has agreed to allow the migration to pass by, which is a fairly nice route. The area is quite lovely that time of year as well. It also has several areas rich in gems around it that are presently not in use. It'd also bring tourism to the town, which would be very helpful to some of my little ponies."

"And to ours as well, Everfree is already home to several of our children, and our ambassadors agree with you that it is a beautiful area. Very near the mountains, correct?"

"Yes, there are several mountain ranges in that area, plenty of places to roost."

"Sounds lovely, Celestia. It is always a pleasure to peacefully discuss matters, you've made things much more welcome for our children worldwide and we are appreciative of this kindness."

"All life is valuable, my dear friend, and peace benefits many. And besides, you are my old friend, I would desire nothing happen to you I do not desire returned."

All of Tiamat's heads nodded and both briefly took sips of their tea. I swear, one drop from the Dragon Queen's cup would have drowned me. But what a way to go...

"So, Celestia, how is Spike the Seventh doing with your apprentice?"


Weird dream again...But hey, even after the whole 'epic battle with my archenemy in another country where I witnessed...bad things', it was good to have a dream that was only slightly terrifying.

The treaty with Dragonkind was essentially what Princess Celestia and Queen Tiamat said it was; dragonkind would be friendly to Equestrians, and not harm us unprovoked and vice versa. Tiamat didn't expect us to aid in a war the dragons were involved in (those were rare anyway...the one with the Hooviets was the only one to ever happen that I was aware of), mainly out of pride. Dragons were a proud people, they didn't want to need our help. But Tiamat would come to Celestia's aid if need be, because Celestia was her friend...That said, I don't think Celestia would ask unless she had no choice for the same reason Tiamat would come.

Still, can't say it isn't refreshing to know Dragons and Ponies have something in common.

(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Yeah, pretty cool, huh?)

Yeah, though I can't help wondering something about it...

(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): What?)

What dragons add to their tea. I doubt it's milk and a teaspoon of sugar.

I looked around the sickbay, trying to figure out where exactly I was for a moment. And realized I'd slept there and thankfully not walked in my sleep.

"Cheep!"

"Oh...hello, tiny bird..."

"Cheep!"

"...Cadence wanted you to keep an eye on me for her, huh?"

"Cheep!"

"...Thanks...I'm having a conversation with a warbler, this is officially weird."

The bird nodded. "...Cheep cheep."

"What do you mean 'you know'?"

"Cheep cheep, cheep," it replied, pointing at me.

"Hey!"


"AHHHHHH!"

I was disturbed on my way to go get my armor after being discharged from the sickbay (read: insisted I was fine and signed myself out) by the sound of four familiar voices screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Cadence!"

Despite still being sore, I took off down the hallway at full speed and practically busted down the door. Yes, I had good reason to be paranoid now! Makarov wanted her to be his concubine! Whatever the hay that means!

"What's going on?!" I asked...and then saw Twinkle Shine with a huge bug of some sort struggling in her telekinesis.

"What is that?!" I yelled, as she continued wrestling the bug.

Cadence shivered, reasonably disturbed. "She was doing my mane and that was in it!"

Twinkle Shine started fighting it into a box.

"Those three were right! We didn't wash your mane last night after it apparently went all energy...y, and something from the jungle must've evolved in it!" Twinkleshine called as she finally managed to trap it in it inside.

Cadence blinked in confusion...then facehoofed.

"Auntie Celestia warned me that might happen and to check my mane when we were in forests!"

I just started at the scene before me. Cadence had just had a mutated insect pulled out of her mane and the soreness from yesterday was starting to register again now that my adrenaline rush was gone...

"...Just another day in my life."

The Royal Pet Handler was summoned to try and figure out what it was, but the troopers that had shown up were kept around in case the bug got out.

"Huh, well it's only about twenty percent larger than normal... Though it does seem to be a tad smarter than the average insect," She said.

"...What? And how can you tell whether it's SMARTER?" Twinkle Shine demanded.

I peeked over to see the insect get a leg through and manage to start opening the box. A trooper promptly put a book on top to keep it trapped.

"I second her observation," I replied.

"Do you maybe want to keep it as a pet, Your Highness?"

"NO! Er, I mean, no thank you. Is it dangerous and where did it come from?" Cadence said.

"It's quite harmless really, it mainly eats flies. As for where it's from, well, they're native to the forest, normal ones aren't that much smaller, they're quite common and love getting in mares' manes. Oddly not male manes though, it seems to be either hormonal differences or possibly even differing shampoos."

"Uh, I have to go..." Garnet said.

She and every other female Guard that had been on the mission took off, some already checking their manes.

"Oh...Well, at least somepony knows what it is," I noted.

"Could be worse, you could have gone in the rivers, there's apparently a small type of fish that swims up a male equine's..."

"Er, ma'am... that's enough, I think I know where it goes and I'd rather not think about it."

"Ah, yes, I hear you did have quite a nosebleed last night as it is."

"....Nose?"


With that out of the way, we got on with business - I got my correct barding, and we had a lot to catch up on even if my head still throbbed a bit.

(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): What happened to the giant bug?)

Cadence said something about letting the scientists look at it.

Bond soon arrived to explain things. Before the breakfast that had been sent for, annoyingly, so I wasn't getting to enjoy morning tea in a moment of peace, but I had a job to do.

"Alright, so..."

"Are you sure you're feeling well enough, Shining?" Cadence then asked again.

"Yes, Princess, I'm well enough to discuss these matters."

"To be honest I've looked a lot worse some mornings than the Captain. Mostly self inflicted with salt and alcohol of course," Bond noted.

"That said I think we should try keep it brief, I think it's best for everypony we get up to date as soon as possible," Minuette resumed.

"...Agreed, there's a lot to do today I imagine," I replied.

She sighed, and looked at a diary.

"...You could say the schedule is full, except the one I had is null and void with all the moving onto ships and stuff last night..."

I knew that look. It was the look Twilight normally got when a sudden change of schedule threw her entire checklist out, normally resulting in her spending the night in a bookfort making a new one... it was actually kind of adorable. On Twilight, not Minuette.

"Alright, then. Quick summary of events. We've been asked to leave the country along with many other diplomats and civilians. At present our flotilla is escorting three other civilian ships that requested or were assigned to our escort by local Air Traffic Control. The Svoboda, which is flying a Latverian flag, a Santa Mayan-flagged freighter called Solar Blessings, and a Neighverlands-registered ship called the Kono."

"...Is that important?" I wondered.

Bond gave me a look.

"...Probably not to you. Look up the term 'flags of convenience' when you find time," He snapped.

"Lieutenant Commander, is that necessary?" Cadence said.

"...My apologies, but it's been a long night for me as well."

"No problem, keep going," I said.

I had to sympathize even before he revealed the real reason: I assumed I'd given him a heck of a lot of extra work, including the whole 'explain to the Griffins why we need to pay them for their rockets we fired while also maintaining a cover story to avoid an international incident' thing...

"To clarify, it's just the Latverian and Santa Mayan flags are among those sometimes used by foreign ships to conceal questionable actions. Kono is a bit suspect for other reasons, but it isn't a threat."

"Alright. I gather that we're actually going to pass the civilian ships off to friendly forces to escort them?" Cadence asked.

"Yes, we've got a Neighponese group, Third Cruiser Squadron. They were apparently on the way to Brayzil, escorting a ship carrying the Neighponese National... Um, okay, apparently taking about half a dozen of their national teams to Brayzil for two tournaments, three friendlies, and a challenge trophy. And one royal.

"We might come back to that, keep going," I said, fearful that every time I got myself examined by a doctor it summoned the party princess...

(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Don't worry, back home if you get hurt at least the party pony you might summon is a friend of Twilight.)

...Sweet Celestia, there's TWO of them?!

"So yes, they'll be escorting all the civilians to safety and we've got them aware that the Svoboda needs looking after. Now, there's the matter of Maasailand. We can't enter early as we were being given a very rare honor even being asked to reach the capital, but we should be allowed to visit their diplomatic island south of Montauk early."

"...Wait, they don't let diplomats in normally?" Minuette asked.

"They're very isolationist. I've heard some stories about why... but the main point is I suppose is that we're spending a day or two with... other diplomats... before we actually meet our hosts and are back on schedule?" I asked.

I hoped the change of schedules she didn't have to write would cheer Minuette up...Or maybe she was looking forward to writing them. With ponies like her and Twiley, it's hard to tell sometimes.

"Well, we've got a fair bit to attend to here but we don't have to worry about any viability assessments for use of lethal force. I checked, and if we can get the agreement of a Princess, then this matter is signed off as a valid threat to innocent life necessitating all means without restriction."

"All but done: quill or rubber stamp?" Cadence replied.

"Quill would be preferable, Your Highness. Um, Captain, about Lance-Corporal..."

"I don't believe he ever fired his bow at all last night," I cut Minuette off.

Turned out he'd fired it once, and it was an explosive arrowhead aimed down the barrel of an enemy BTR's gun when he realized it was just big enough. Show-off. But anyway...

"The basics are we don't need to have another inquest or fifty then. That's good, they were insanely stressful," Cadence nodded.

"We will be assessing troopers of course, they did see some nasty things last night. I already checked Ellis, Captain, he's alright," Bond quickly said as my eyes had widened.

"...What about everypony else?"

"Generally speaking, everyone just seems angry at the Hooviets for doing what they did. Good news is the only ones from ours that used any potentially lethal force all seem to be doing okay as well. We'll keep assessments but..."

"What about me? I... I killed that fake alicorn," I said.

To my surprise, Minuette didn't gasp. Somehow that made me feel even more uneasy.

"...Mother Deer explained this. You simply freed her. Ask any vet. Sometimes all you can do is end suffering..."

I didn't ask him to clarify which meaning of vet he meant. Bond's career meant he had certainly ran into his fair share of soldiers. Given how generally humorless he could be I had my suspicions about his second job as well at times...

"...You did her a service, Shining. Mother Deer assures us you've saved her."

"We're here to talk if you need us anyway," Cadence added.

"Finally, the last matter, and... I'm sorry but this might be part of why I'm so cranky. We've been given word by the Kunduan government... We will have permission to search for the Defiant when we reach their territory."

"I see..." Cadence said sympathetically.

"...So what do we do for now?" Minuette wondered a few moments later.

"I think we should maybe have the Princess speak to the troops involved last night, make sure she's supportive of them. Her encouragement could be helpful. And of course the fact she fought with them will probably be a morale booster," I suggested.

"Good idea. Oh... There's another matter I need to ask. We're presently carrying most of the bodies we recovered last night while our engineers and medics are making an area on the Svoboda able to safely store and preserve cadavers on the trip... but there's one body that Mother Deer asks if perhaps we could bury at sea ourselves this evening."

"...We can do that. I would like to attend," Cadence said.

"...I'd like to attend as well. It's the least I can do," I added.


The rest of the day was a sort of organized chaos, or a disorganised harmony, maybe. Troopers spoke to counsellors, The Princess gave a speech, we received a letter from Celestia...

"...Uh oh. Somepony else open it..."

Gag volunteered.

"...She says that the SEALS reported no problems in Ponyville at all last night and they think the deer are out of the area. She's still going to leave a few of them in town just in case."

"Phew!"

She then facehoofed.

"...Auntie won't know the rebels aren't a problem."

"I still think it's a good idea to keep security up, all the same," I was quick to say.

"Oh, certainly, but, I think I need to contact Auntie about last night... I could use her advice actually..."

Something seemed to be bothering her still...

"What's wrong? Is this about Makarov?"

"No, it's just..."

I looked to the others. "Mind giving us a moment alone?"

Despite snickering Hoofmaidens, we were soon alone.

"Now, what is it?"

Cadence gave a sigh.

"...Shining...you know how I started saying things when I was fighting Makarov? How I said things I have no idea what they mean?" she asked, looking vulnerable and almost frightened.

"...I don't know why I said it, but it felt like I was close to opening a door... to unlocking something inside of me..." Cadence looked up at me with fearful eyes.

"Shining...I'm scared if I do that again I'm not going to come back. That....I'll stop being me...I don't understand it...I'm just scared..."

To say I was speechless is an understatement...I had no idea what to say. What could I say? So I just hugged her. Yes, I knew the Hoofmaidens would break out in song if they knew I did, but Cadence wasn't just a Princess. We'd known each other since we were teens...I didn't care if she was a Princess or an Alicorn, she was somepony I cared about and that's all that mattered to me...

"...I'll do my best to make it so you don't have to again."

Cadence didn't reply...she just let me comfort her for awhile until she was ready to move on with the day. I also convinced her to go to some counseling herself. She had been in the first real battle she'd ever been in in her entire life, so yes, I was worried about her.


Evening came, and Invincible flew a little lower down over the ocean. In the lower hangar, a small group stood by the open door. Four Air Naval Cavalry unicorns, muskets at the ready. Four Earth Pony ANC to bear the casket over the edge of the ship. Dima, Natasha, Mother Deer, Myself, Cadence, and Commander Shepard. There were also the five former Hooviets from the tank along with a few prisoners from the battle who Mother Deer had converted in the meantime (they'd mainly been staying on the Svoboda under strict watch), along with a few extra guard keeping an eye on them.

Shepard had said the Rebels checked out, so no one really questioned them being aboard. Plus, well, we're ponies, we're kinda accepting like that. Unfortunately, with the Hooviets around, we had to keep Mother Deer secret from the Deer over on the Enterprise for their own safety.

Normally, we try to bury Earth Ponies in the soil. Unicorns and Pegasi are more inclined to cremation and scattering ashes, but we had no time to find land, and the cybernetic technology simply couldn't be risked for recovery. Burial at sea was the only pragmatic and acceptable option.

It was also a remarkably brief ceremony. The first funeral I'd attended seemed to last forever... but then, I was about five at the time. A later one only seemed short because I forgot so much of it, yet long, because all I'd done was try not to stare at the casket the whole time.

As for why other ceremonies had been long... family and friends spoke. Yablokovodka had lost them all. We couldn't say much. Mother Deer gave her blessings to the body and the spirit. The former Hooviets had said apologies for being a part of what had happened to her. That was all there was to it.

Shepard, as the ship's captain, oversaw the actual ceremony portion.

"Mother Earth, you gave us this life to walk your surface with us, and matters prevent us directly returning her to your embrace. We entrust her body to the sea that it may bring her to you, as her spirit has returned to the sky,"

The four muskets gave a crack as they fired. One musket for each goddess. Celestia, Cadence, Luna, and Mother Deer. The Earth Ponies lifted the casket up and gently led it to the edge.

"Thank you for allowing us to give her rest, Princess," Mother Deer then said.

"It was the right thing," Cadence replied.

"I would also like to thank you again for all your other help, and for saving the villagers of Segis. We are taking them to safety, the Neighponese will help lead us to a land where they can find a safe haven... I sent an avatar of myself to speak with a leader I felt would be receptive."

"...You spoke with Auntie?"

"Yes, in a manner of speaking."

"H-how much does Aunt Celly know about..."

"Your Aunt Celestia knows only that I have contacted Equestria for aid for souls in need. Your Aunt Luna, however, was rather startled... It seems this was her first night conducting court since her return, and she had been expecting something less eventful than another Goddess seeking an audience."

"That must have been, uh... What is Princess Luna like?" I wondered.

Mother Deer pondered this.

"I think the term that applies to my... relative at the moment is 'a fish out of water,' Is that right?"

"Um, Possibly."

"Certainly, she is a little different from when I last saw her a thousand years ago, though she has an advantage in that she is regaining power faster. After all, her people simply need see the moon to understand one of her main concepts. Whereas mine have the understanding of my concept strangled by the Hooviets."

"Um, Mother Deer, how is Aunt Luna related to you?"

"It is rather complicated. I fear if I delved into details, it might be... counterproductive. To say the least. You've already had to face enough cosmic revelations recently. Explaining my relationship to Luna fully would require knowing more about the universe than most would be comfortable or even things we don't understand. Just know that you and I are family, Cadence."


After that, we simply had to wait the rest of the flight to the Diplomatic Island south of Montauk, in Maasailand. I'd tried to rest up a bit in my cabin, but I'd already read all the books on the ship...

(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): All of them?)

...That looked good.

(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Oh.)

So I decided to finally try writing down the ideas I had for a novel. I risked the radio...

"Please, nothing about Hooviets, wolves, or fish that swim up your nose..."

"Talk with your mouth full, Bite the hand that feeds you..."

"...Yeah, that works."

I wrote for a little while, none of the songs being all that ominous or spooky. Most of them seemed to be rather crazy songs. Parodies, comedy songs, that sort of thing... Yet my writing just didn't seem to be working. And the lingering pain wasn't helping much towards me being able to think...

"...Now a slightly odd request for seven PM, 'Hush Now, Quiet Now'. Hope you've got permission to be looking for an early night, Sailor, and everyone else is warned not to fall asleep at your posts..."

I sighed, putting my head down and trying to think...

"It looks like you're writing a sci-fi piece of invasion literature leaning towards realistic science and magic, would you like help?" The Paperclip said.

"...Buh?!"

It was just a paperclip, with a face on it. The same face as...

"...Weren't you in my dream the other night? You threw a doll at me!"

"Yeah, my brother said 'hit him over the head with the tip', I thought that was kind of silly, but it worked!" The Paperclip said.

"You mean it gave me... the idea on what to do with Yablo.. the cyborg?"

"No, you got annoyed by it enough to remember it and use it productively."

"I don't...quite understand..."

"Good!" she said cheerily. I just sighed in annoyance.

"Look, who are you? Why are you a paperclip? Why are you in my room? And why am I only now just realizing I must be dreaming again?!"

"Hm, good questions. My answer to all of them is: because it's funny."

"Even who are you?"

"...Yes."

I sighed.

"Look...I'm not sure what to do here, at all."

"I know, that's why I'm here to help! It's my job, actually! Scifi epic and the like, following in your mother's hoofsteps but making them all stalliony instead of secretly plotting that very odd book like your sister plans... Honestly, why only fifty shades?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Seems to be the fashionable one's fault anyway... So, you need ideas. What do you have?"

"...I'm sorry, but honestly the idea of a paperclip giving me help seems oddly annoying."


She sighed.

"That happens a lot. How about the dog?"

"NO!"

"Fine..."

With a ping, she resumed her... I suppose regular... form. Only for some reason wearing what looked like a pretty good RoboGuard cosplay. And staying tiny and on my desk.

"Alright, now, most writers try to write what they know, or research the heck out of the subject first, or they just make it all up and then annoy some people because they got it wrong. Or go the middle ground and then use research to make it up, like making whole alien worlds similar but different, changing a few things here and there.."

"That sounds like you're listing all writers."

"In the end, yes. It's about imagination really. Sometimes imaginations work better restricted, others need to be free. But when you have no imagination and go completely free it's just messy. Overpowered mary-sues, main characters getting sidelined, characters being one dimensional author stand-ins, they just follow cliches and copy other stories instead of being inspired by them. That sort of thing," she smiled.

I sighed.

"...Okay, so, what. I write what I know? Things I've seen, people I know?"

"Yeah! Like, right now you wanna figure out your aliens. They're aliens, but flying saucers are a bit cliché, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Think of the sky..."

I tried to think of the sky...

"Chirp?" The Warbler said.

"Um... Hi again."

My...advisor gave a chuckle. "Think of the sky-sky. Truth is out there, secret files, coverups, Ponies in Black..." For some reason that music from the opening of those 'X-Folders' radio dramas started playing as she said that.

"Black triangles!" I shouted.

"Good, good!"

"...That could be their main attack craft, like an SF-1 but with... Lightning guns? No, maybe they'd be energy bolts... ball lightning?"

"Yeah, now what about the ground?"

"...They'd use something more advanced than us. Beyond our magic and technology as we know it but still possible... Some kind of advanced tank?"

"Normal tanks are boring for aliens, try something special," my visitor said.

"...walking tanks that can just be dropped from the sky. Tough legs to carry their weight and resist damage, some kind of technology making them have low ground pressure, lower than tanks..."

I thought of the most obvious answer, my solution for almost everything.

"...Maybe shields. Protect them from fire, protect them being dropped, lift them off the ground a little to reduce their ground weight..."

"Good!"

"...On two legs. But not all that big, maybe no taller than a tank standing all the way up. They don't need more than one pilot, or they could even be remote... or... robots..."

She clapped her hands, strangely each clap sounding like a different fantasy soundtrack playing. "Great! You'd be stunned how many quadrupeds jump to eight instead of drop to two! That's actually a pretty rare idea you had! Of course, three is kind of common, but funny because we both know why that's impractical, so not really good for a serious story like you want, better for a parody... And lots of ponies forget tall targets can't hide too good..."

"Yeah... Those seem like decent ideas..." I mused.

"Yep. Glad I helped, but somepony's at the door!"

"Um... what's that knocking?"

"The Door. I just said!" She said, her voice fading as I....

"Brghflzlkpm...." Seemed to be the sound I made as I woke.

"Captain? If you're falling asleep at your desk maybe you'd better go to bed," Thunderchild advised.

"I wasn't asleep, I was just... Considering some ideas..."

Even as I replied I was trying to write them down. Thunderchild knew better than to look at them.

"Yeah, that novel of yours... Maybe you'd better consider them in bed?"

"Do you have something to say?" I sighed, my headache waking up as well.

"Princess Cadenza asked me to check up on you."

"...And you did, so unless you've got any suggestions for my novel, can I get some peace, please?"

"Actually, I do have one suggestion... The hero should be a handsome pegasus, with a beautiful yellow marefriend..."

"Do you have a serious suggestion?"

"I was serious."

"Then goodnight, Sergeant, please let me spend the rest of the evening in peace trying to write."

He left eventually, and I pondered the... dream... I'd had. Why did I keep imagining about a weird creature like that giving me advice? I thought back about the statue in Canterlot...what was it called? Dracon-something...

Still, Thunderchild had a point. I was pretty tired. It'd only been a day since I'd used more mana than I thought I had... again. On cue the headache ramped itself up a little at the base of my horn. I switched the radio off, put my notes away, and retired for the night.


We soon reached Maasailand, where the Neighponese flotilla was waiting to give me a different kind of headache as my mana-overuse one left. Our three civilian ships were duly passed into the care of elements from that flotilla, and went on their way as we moved to the diplomatic island. The remainder of the flotilla was waiting there a couple of days (it seemed Euphie had her own Minuette who'd put a few extra days on the timetable in case of delays, or, in this case, a sudden stop to say hello to Equestrians and lead civilians out of a minor crisis zone).

The island seemed normal enough. The various permanent embassies were all fairly large, and a number of dockyards gave berths for less permanent embassies based on ships. Not many nations had built permanent structures. Equestria was one of the few that had, but mainly to provide a separate dockyard for a number of smaller nations to use. The Neighponese Flotilla had borrowed it. The actual embassy was little more than a Guard barracks and some offices, plus a small meeting room where the occasional host diplomat would meet our ambassador.

We were not planning on staying there. We were supposed to be given the rare honor of actually being invited into Maasailand, to their capital. We were the first in decades, the first since the rise of The Brotherhood fifty years ago.

The Brotherhood of the Scorpion had apparently launched a counter-coup the eve of an effort by pro-Hooviet forces to launch their own. Little was known about the actual event, but what was clear, was that the Brotherhood had been around for a long time before they'd emerged from the shadows. Possibly even centuries.

(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): An ancient conspiracy?! Your weirdness magnet strikes again!)

That's not the half of it. Since then, they'd fallen silent. Their diplomats were all recalled, and the few foreign diplomats present in their country were relocated to the island in the south, near the city of Montauk.

Montauk was all we could see of Maasailand from here, and it was hard to miss. It looked like some kind of nightmare castle, a black wall fifty meters high at the edge of the coast, towers like scorpion tails curled out at regular intervals, and emblems of a scorpion tail inside a triangle. At night it got worse, because there was just an eerie red glow from the whole city, the tips of the scorpion tails glowing, the emblems shining red.

It wasn't hard to believe some of the stories. Most of the stories said that the Brotherhood were a mad cult awaiting their messiah. In one, the messiah was supposedly a 'very bald' being. They would wage war against 'The Eagle' to control the world when he came to them. Other stories claimed they were awaiting 'the Shadow-King' returning, and then they would do the control the world thing. Another, that they awaited a dark Queen, which may have been proven false as Nightmare Moon was already taken care of. A dozen other stories were out there.

The general fear though, one I somewhat shared, was that these guys were the next biggest problem to the world at large after the Hooviets. Particularly since they'd managed to out-coup the Hooviets. That Shadow-King thing also had me fearing they would see Makarov as their Messiah.

They'd been hiding for decades. This couldn't bode well, surely...

Then again, maybe the Hooviets and this Brotherhood would get into a fight and keep Makarov occupied so I could sneak up on him to lure the Wolf or something...Oh who was I kidding? I WISH I was that lucky.

"...Certainly like their scorpions," Twinkle Shine noted as we watched from the deck.

"Yes, it's, er... very..." Cadence seemed to struggle to describe it.

"It reminds me of Maredor in that book with the magic ring. But more evil looking," Gag said bluntly.

We then found ourselves called to the bridge... out a window, because the deck was actually forward of it. Saved time, I guess. We went up and a junior officer was on the radio.

"Princess, Imperial Princess Euphie has contacted us and-...yes, it is Princess Cadence...Uh...well, she says 'Hello, Cadence-sempai!'"

Cadence chuckled.

"She says that-yes, she's happy to hear from you-she wants to-ugh, she say-"

"Just patch me through directly," the Princess replied.

I didn't understand much of the conversation, since Cadence spoke in Neighponese. But she hung up and smiled. "Euphie-chan says that they're not letting her have parties on her own ships due to security concerns. Their hangars are all full of something called Umidoris..."

"Seagulls, a Neighponese type of Light Patrol airship. Their transports are called Ospreys or Misagos, and they call their SF-1 equivalent the Type-0 right now as it's meant to be experimental," Hornblower cut in.

"Oh, that's too bad..." I said, secretly rather happy there wouldn't be a Neighponese Princess Party for me to get pulled into.

"So I offered to let her come and throw a party in our hangar. It is almost Gag's birthday, and since his special talent is languages, it might be pretty fun."

"...Great..." I replied. When I was out of sight promptly slammed my head into a wall.


I had to at least admit the idea of a party meant something to calm everypony down, even if it wasn't quite my scene. I'd tried to decline as many of them as I reasonably could each week. But this one, I pretty much had to attend. Gag was... had been the rookie of the squad, after all. He'd made Lance-Corporal just less than a year after moving into active Guard duties. Not too surprising though, he'd been a Private in training for a year before that. So yeah, I didn't have much choice but to celebrate.

"...The Umpire is puzzled when the Manehattan Regiment walks up and dumps two buckets of sand and one of cement into a field. 'What's that for?' He asks. 'Captain wanted a mortar attack on this field.'," Gag explained to the rest of the squad and a couple of Neighponese Uniformed Shinobi.

It got a few chuckles for once. Garnet had been encouraging him to try going for shorter jokes. 'Four Night Guards walk into a bar - this is why flashlights are useful' was pretty good, I thought.

"Enjoying yourself, Running?"

"Yeah, Sir. Seems that the Princesses working together can make a pretty good party," he said.

"It helps they had a heck of a lot of party supplies for some reason. Saves some for our next few," Thunderchild added.

The Uniformed Shinobi simply nodded, and said something.

"He says 'Euphie-sama felt it was vital such large stocks were needed. She almost felt they were more required than patrol craft...'"

"Fortunately, even Imperial Princesses can't overrule common sense," a mare in a green turtleneck noted as she neared. She looked familiar...

"Have I seen you before?" I decided to be direct.

"Maybe. How many princesses have you met from Neighpon?"

"Just the one. And a Prince, but that didn't end well..."

"Then you've not seen me before," She grinned. Well, at least I didn't accidentally clop off another foreign noble.

"...Yuffie-Sempai, please stop teasing everypony with that," Shosa Suzaku sighed. He had approached with Cadence and Euphie.

"It's true though, but Dad's only a Daimyo, so I'm much lower ranked than Euphie-Sama. But I'm a Ninja. Are you a ninja, Euphie-Sama?"

"...No," The senior Neighponese princess pouted.

"It's easier to just think of me as a ninja, an awesome, beautiful..."

"...Supremely arrogant and embarrassing..." Suzaka and Taichi said in synchronization.

"...and now slightly annoyed Kunochi. You guys both suck."

Ok, I have to admit, I'm kind of with her on this one; being a Ninja Princess is pretty cool...maybe I should try working one into my novel.

"Captain Sparkle, Cadenza-Chan tells me you don't seem to like to sing," Euphie then cut in.

"Er, not quite true, I just... Don't have much enthusiasm for it," I tried.

"That's a shame given who you bodyguard. Suzaku sings. Even Taichi sings..."

Somepony muttered something in Neighponese nearby, that Gag translated as 'and every time he did mother thought the cat was being strangled...' which was unfortunate as I went on to say:

"Truth be told... I don't think I have a good singing voice. It sounds like...."

"A cat being strangled, Sir?" Gag offered.

"Yes!"

The Neighponese party seemed to chuckle at this, for reasons that are now clear to you but were not clear to me. Cheeky bugger.

"I find that hard to believe, really. You've seemed okay those few times on the trip, and you weren't a bad singer when we were foals..." Cadence then said.

"I think you should try when the karaoke starts!" Euphie then proclaimed.

"...Do I have to?"

"Well, it's your choice, really..." Cadence noted.

"I'd rather not," I admitted.

"Ooh, maybe you should duet with somepony then?" Twinkle Shine then offered. She showed up so fast I thought she teleported but the ship's wards prevented internal teleporting...and I don't know if she even knows how to teleport.

"Hm, yes, somepony skilled at singing to help you keep rhythm..." Suzaku noted...

"Indeed, a stronger singer to hold you up on the areas you falter," Taichi nodded.

Yes, even the darn Samurai and Ninjas were in on it! At least the Ninja Princess wasn't in on it yet.

"Ooh! Why not Cadenza-Chan! You could try a duet!"

Faced with this, and with my mana still a little low, I was practically defenseless...

"...Okay, I might sing, but I'll probably wait until near the end of the party. And I'm not sure about a duet, either," I tried.

"Fair enough, just give it a go either way, Shining," Cadence smiled.

I was really hoping maybe more ponies wanted to sing first, and I could maybe enjoy some others that sang badly before I went up to embarrass myself.

Fat chance. Cadence had a go first, and again, everypony else seemed to get a boost after it... Sunset and Ranger were probably the most impressive.

"You're all I need, to set me free, and this fire will guide you home..."

Still, that reminded me a duet was a bad idea.

"I think I'll just be put down for singing myself," I said to Minuette, taking names for ponies wanting to sing.

"Okay, Captain. I'll just let the Princess know, she'll probably sing one more time to end the night. I'll have you sing before her, will I?"

"Sure..."

I just told her to pick any old song. I'd ruin it anyway.

Then the trap was sprung.

"Whoops, I put you both down for the same song!"

"...Seriously, Minny?"

"Just an admin error, but, well, we are a little short on time..."

Coming from the pony almost as compulsive as Twilight, that made me suspicious.

The groan Cadence gave made it clear she wasn't involved in this.

"I just don't sing, then," I said.

"...Look, Shining, I don't think this song is a duet, so it wouldn't be too awkward. Besides, you're worried about not singing, those two did have a point. I can help you... Please?" Cadence said.

"...Okay."

And so I wound up having a duet with Princess Cadenza for the first time in about fifteen years.

"He stares out the window, blank as a canvas, made up in the sunlight of swirling smoke and ash..."

It wasn't a duet, but it somehow felt like I was singing about myself in the third person... And I don't think I was as bad as I feared I would be, though I'm pretty sure the applause was mostly for Cadence. The Hoofmaidens all said me and Cadence's singing complimented each other perfectly, but knowing them...

The bottom line was... I wound up feeling pretty relaxed all round when it was over. Guess sometimes you just need to face your fears. Speaking of which, onto what was considered the second scariest country on the planet.


The next evening, after we'd had another day to somewhat wind down and prepare, we were facing fear again. Cadence, Sunset, Minuette, Myself, and Commander Shepard waited at the table in the embassy's meeting room. Audience and Ellis stood by the doors outside, Thunderchild, and Garnet stood behind the five of us, and Gag was on hoof to translate just in case. We were trying to look as impressive as we could. We'd put Cadence in the middle, the two officers flanking her, and a hoofmaiden either side of us, trying to draw as much attention to our Alicorn as possible.

"The Emissary has arrived and is presently on his way," a messenger reported.

"...Officer you, Petty Thank," Cadence said. We didn't comment, and silence fell again.

"...I wish he'd told us what species to expect at least. For all we know it could be a giant scorpion," she then said.

"Please relax, Princess, I'm sure that things aren't too bad..." Sunset tried.

"Besides, the giant scorpion wouldn't be the emissary, it'd probably their leader," Gag commented.

That joke might have actually been funny...if we weren't all afraid it was true.

Everypony else in the room had actually heard the stories. It didn't help that the sun had began to set in the west, making the ruddy glow of Montauk in the windows facing north more and more ominous every passing minute.

Then they came. Audience and Ellis opened the doors, entered... and were followed by a group of half a dozen Zebra, all in black insect-like armor with flowing red capes. Each of them wore false scorpion tails, and all wore creepy gas-masks with glowing red eye-covers, including a third rounded glowing spot in the middle that made it look like they had three eyes. On their chests, a blood-red triangle with a black hoofprint in the middle.

Two of them shuffled our troopers off to the side to flank the door, my Lance-Corporals deferring to our hosts. The other four formed a line behind the single seat The Emissary would sit in.

And then he entered. A bald Donkey, with a goatee beard. He wore a black leather trenchcoat edged with red lines, the leather hopefully either from non-sapient cows, or at least purchased legally as part of some Cow funeral rights... but with the stories, well, who knows. He lacked any markings other than a badge of the red triangle with a black hoofprint on either side of the collar of his coat.

He was easily the most intimidating donkey I had ever seen, despite not looking much. Maybe it was the way most donkeys that lost their manes wore a wig, but here was this guy, not caring one bit...

"In the name of KANE, I bring you greetings, Princess Cadenza. May the Magic of Peace bring good tidings to your house. I am Inquisitor-Cardinal Vectron of the Black Hoof of KANE's Peace Cadre, and I am here to discuss your entry to the People's Chosen and Holy Peaceful Realm of Maasailand."

Oh horseapples, I thought. Putting peaceful in the title of your nation rarely ended well... and this talk of magic of peace did not sound good. And he had a name and title about a sentence long! That's never a good sign!

(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Spike's full name is Kenbroath Gillspotten Heathspike the Seventh.)

Well, he's a baby dragon - he's too cute to be evil!

(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): And technically, yours is Captain Shining Armor Sparkle, Commander of the Bodyguard of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza Equestria. Well, Captain Shining Armor Sparkle of Canterlot, Officer of the First Harmony Regiment, of the Twentieth Harmony Brigade, of the Third Division, of the Equestrian Royal Guard, Commander of the Bodyguard of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza Equestria to use all your possible titles and affiliations.)

Erk. I might be evil.

(Interviewer's notes (Earth Pony): Hey, at least ya can brag ya gotta fancier-sounding title than Mr. Azure Raven!)

...YES!

"My greetings and thanks to you, Inquisitor-Cardinal, for meeting with us. On behalf of the Principality of Equestria I extend a hoof of peace and friendship and hope that our discussions will be peaceful, harmonious, and productive," Cadence said back.

"It seems KANE smiles upon us this evening, Princess Cadenza. In a meeting with the Pontiffs of the Brotherhood, The Right Paw of KANE, Seth, has decreed that we are to open our borders to the emissaries of the Principality of Equestria. The power of KANE be with you."

Phew! That had been fairly simple...

"However, before we open the borders we must ask you these questions of your intentions and abilities..."

Uh oh.

"One... What... Is your name?"

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza Equestria."

"What... is your favourite color?"

"Purple. But, er, I think Red is lovely too..."

He nodded. Had that worked?

"And finally, what... is your quest?"


"I am on a diplomatic mission to spread harmony, peace, and goodwill to the world, extending the Hoof of Equestrian Friendship."

He looked very intrigued at this.

"Most interesting, you are also followers of KANE even from beyond the borders of the marked?"

"I, er, I'm afraid you may need to clarify, Inquisitor-Cardinal... Who is KANE?"

"KANE is not who, but what, Princess. KANE is Kindness And Nonviolence Everywhere. It is the goal of Maasailand, of the Brotherhood. It is the ideal the Peace Cadre, the Clerical and Peacekeeper Arm of the Brotherhood, preserve! Until the day the Messiah comes to us, we wait isolated, for the day the Messiah comes is the day we shall open our borders and spread out, taking the Magic of Peace to the whole world, preaching the ideals of KANE in the name of our God-or-Goddess!"

He looked fanatical. Deranged. Oh Sweet Celestia they were going to kill us all in a few years if their Messiah showed up!

Cadence kept her cool externally at least.

"...God OR Goddess?"

"Yes. Our Messiah will show us who we should place faith in. We will be shown which God-or-Goddess fits our needs, we shall worship their name, and we shall spread their word and their will. The Ideals of KANE need a god or goddess that is...fitting. Promoting and representing.... non-disorder. I am unsure how to phrase it..."

"...Harmony?" I offered.

The word appeared entirely alien to him. He consulted his troops, and then Gag offered his aid. They all seemed rather pleased.

"Why, yes! Harmony... Harmony seems a fitting word. It would appear to in fact mean exactly what KANE means in our native language."

"I wondered why you kept saying Harmony," Gag grinned.

"Pray tell, by KANE... By Harmony's Blessing, do you maybe know a God or Goddess that promotes Harmony, Captain Sparkle?"

"...Mi Amore Cadenza?" I said hesitantly. "In fact she's literally the Alicorn of Harmony."

One of the soldiers at the door fainted.

"Could it be? The prophecy says that The Messiah, who shows us our patron and lets our people travel to preach our ideals at last, will see the truth of his duty in the presence of white horses, and then the Messiah shall lead us to the shining prosperity! Captain, please, answer these questions three!"

...Oh Celestia, I think I just accidentally made these Zebra think I was their messiah. And given my luck, I probably was!

"One... can you count?"

Yes...

"Are you male?"

Yes... Oh Horseapples...

"Four..."

I was so nervous I couldn't help myself.

"What happened to three?!"

Another soldier fainted.

"Excellent! Now there are but four more questions!"

One, is my coat color natural? Yes. Two, was I still male? Yes. Three...

"Is your sister Purple?"

"...What the... Y-yes, she is..."

Thunderchild managed to break his shock long enough to add his two bits.

"She's also the Element of Magic, leader of the Elements of Harmony-OW!" And be kicked by Garnet for his trouble.

Another soldier fainted on each question answered. The one left was wobbling.

"Finally, Captain Shining Armor Sparkle, for one million pounds..."

"Eh?"

"It Is Written That The Question Must Be Phrased Like This," he clarified, then continued.

Celestia, are you serious? No, really, I was beginning to think this was Celestia's doing! It was definitely something she'd do! If they also had a hymn about their God being bigger....

"...Are you the Messiah?"

I thought about this.

"...Um... yes?"

I hoped I'd got it right...

The soldiers un-fainted and Vectron looked glum.

"Blast. The true Messiah would only know their divine role by not knowing it was their true role. A false positive would believe they were and in the process disqualify themselves from being the Messiah."

"Um, I'm sorry..." I said, secretly glad I'd called it.

"No, no, not your fault, Captain, the Magic of Peace moves in strange ways. It would seem it is another who shall show us our God or Goddess. But thank you for playing!"

"...Um, I had fun?" I presumed 'It Was Written That He Had To Say That' or something.

"Er, Inquisitor-Cardinal, may I ask a few questions about Maasailand?" Cadence asked.

"Certainly. We may not be certain if you will be our God-or-Goddess, but you're still a Goddess we can agree with. And you very well still could be our God-or-Goddess. Only the Messiah knows for sure."

"Tell me something... The black and the scorpions, all the red lights... What do they symbolize?"

"They are a symbol of peace, and the red light is the light of love and peace that we shine for all the world to see as they pass, that they know we are peaceful and seek to leave us be for the moment!"

"I... I see, it's just it actually looks a little intimidating to most of us."

"...It does?"

"Yes."

"It does not fill you with feelings of peace and goodwill?"

"Not really, but, er, it's really just a small cultural difference. Now we know, it's much less intimidating! And my Auntie loves red, just look at the sunrise and sunset!"

He nodded.

"...Indeed. Truth be told, your peaceful words confused me when I had saw the aggressive colors of the armor your peacekeepers wear."

"Gold is intimidating in your culture?"

"Very much so. We gave away all our surplus as soon as The Brotherhood brought peace to the nation. 'Take this gold in the name of peace, that we shall avoid violence,' we said, and though they were fearful to accept it, our neighbors kindly took the fearful burden unto themselves that we might isolate ourselves in peace."

...They probably thought that the Maasailanders were trying to buy them off or bribe spies. When guys dressed in black with ominous red glows and scorpion tails everywhere say 'shut up and take my money' you take the money. Especially with the bit they said at the end.

It actually started making sense though. In Zhongguo, white was considered a color of death...still there's cultural differences and then there's just plain weird!


For an apparently mad cult-led dictatorship it was... nice. Bit too much black and red everywhere maybe and every light being red at night meant I tripped over things a lot, but it was probably the most friendly slightly-insane place I'd been to since that time I went to Ponyville and Draco Island.

...Still, all that red light and black backgrounds did cast worrying shadows. And there was one small incident that caused some alarm.

"And this is area of the Temple is known as The Back Seat, where the Manticore of Peace and Happiness has his nest! In fact, it is feeding time, would anypony like to feed him?" Brother Marcion, our guide, said as he showed us the Temple of Nod in the city of, er, Nod.

"F-feed... AAAAAAARGH!" Sunset bolted.

"...Goodness, I didn't know any of you knew his name. Is she away to get his tofu? He's a vegetarian, you see."

"...He's called Aaargh?!" Cadence wondered even as I sent Gag and Thunderchild to catch our fleeing Hoofmaiden.

"Yes, it means 'most peaceful, fluffy, and adorable' in our language."

Aaargh was indeed a Manticore, though apparently Maasailand Manticores are a lot more docile and friendly than their Equestrian cousins. Turns out the scorpion tails just help them roost, like bats with lion bodies, and are used by the manticores to 'talk' to each other (wonder what happens if one of them talks in their sleep...). They were also not much bigger than a medium-sized dog...For once the place we visited was weird BEFORE I got there. I wondered how long my good luck was going to hold out before the universe remembered it hated my guts.

Much of the time was spent with our two cultures genuinely sharing and learning about each other: We were almost sad to have to leave, especially since the next place was the first Hooviet Ally on the list.

Djelibeybi, formerly the Kingdom Of, and presently People's Greater Good Of, was where the Hooviets got a hoofhold in Zebrafrica. Fifty years ago, their Pharaoh began to try and terraform the southern deserts, driving them back... and starting a civil war as the desert nomads feared their way of life would be destroyed. It drew in other nations, including pre-Brotherhood Maasailand on the side of the Pharaoh (resulting in their Hooviet-backed coup that was then toppled by the Brotherhood). End results, tens of thousands dead, the desert nomads split away into two new nations along lines of tribal similarities and shared customs with Hooviet backing, and two (technically three) governments were toppled.

It was here we learned of some small problems at home: News from Equestria had began to mention a possible problem in the borders of the Buffalo Lands, with a few diplomats and military spokesponies denying concerns that there was a risk of a fight. They stated that the disputes were at a local level between settlers and tribes, and would be resolved without the intervention of central government.

The other problem was that a certain yellow Pegasus was apparently now a fashion model. Despite all the crazy things that have happened to me, I honestly didn't see that one coming.

"But Sir, it's more important now than ever that you let me write to her before somepony else tries to woo her based only on her fame and looks! Princess, surely you understand?!"

"...I think I agree with Shining, Thunderchild, if you're serious this is creepy and if you're joking you're taking it too far..."

(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Aww, you don't believe in love at first sight?)

Considering Thunderchild not only likes to think of himself as a casanova and was still doing plenty of 'window shopping', as well as the fact he'd never her seen her outside a picture, I had my doubts. Also, I was concerned how Miss Fluttershy would react to getting a love letter from a member of the Guard she'd never even met. Well, probably another one given the whole fashion model thing. Still, having to explain to Twiley 'I let my Sergeant ask your friend out' was a level of awkward I didn't really want to risk entering.

Our week there in the actual nation was quite simply uneventful, even though they were in a celebratory mood. An internal insurgency, the Children of the Sphinx, had been put down recently.

They were apparently a pro-Monarchy group that wanted to stop the Government destroying the habitat of the Desert Sphinx, their national animal. They had even opposed the Pharaoh, as painful as it had been, but stood with him when the war broke out.

The government said it had ended with a peacefully-agreed surrender and amnesty: we even 'met' some 'former Rebel' leaders who were to be offered places as advisors to the government to ensure that a peaceful solution in the name of the Greater Good could be found to the worries the Children of the Sphinx had. The Government now claimed it had always been about land worries and poor local government, blaming a number of scapegoat local councillors and 'arresting' them for peaceful trial.

Bond's investigations seemed to indicate otherwise, as did information from Mother Deer's agents. We'd met actors instead of real leaders, half the arrested local councillors and town leaders were also actors, the rest were simply undesirables the main government wanted rid of. Old records and propaganda statements he obtained showed the government had accused the Children of the Sphinx of being all sorts of things. Terrorists without a cause, anti-peace forces, opponents of the Greater Good, people seeking to hoof power to foreigners. They even once claimed that an ancient conspiracy backed them once, accusing Princess Celestia and various spiritual orders and world leaders of being a sinister conspiracy bent on world conquest.

As for putting down the insurgency? Hooviet forces had been involved, and apparently, always close to leylines. It seemed Makarov managed to kill some villages after all. Still, given Makarov wasn't some supreme overlord of creation, we still threw a wrench in his works and saved one village...just wish we could've saved them all.

We had to grin and bear festivities that celebrated the murders of countless innocents and pretended it had all been peaceful. We had to smile and be polite to people who threw barbed insults our way. We were glad to leave. Cadence had to quietly and politely explain to her entourage that kicking up a stink over it wouldn't change anything, especially to Twinkle Shine.

...Why was it the place that was outwardly peaceful and happy was scarier than the place with the scary animal motif, ominous red lights, and terrifying sounding creatures that were actually friendly and hospitable? Again?!

(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Well, Princess Luna was around a thousand years ago, and so was Tiamat and probably the Brotherhood, and we know Celestia probably inspired the Order of the Talon...)

And now it all makes sense...

To Be Continued

Author's Note:

Story Arc written by LZ0291 http://lz0291.deviantart.com/ Please tell him what you think of the chapter.

Shining Armor is given a two year tour of the world to be the captain of Princess Cadence's body guard. Yeah. That's all. That's everything Yep. Nothing what so ever else. *AJ's Liar face*

"Time is an ocean in a storm."

This storyline runs PARALLEL to the events in the Dark World storyline narrative wise.



Previous Chapter: http://alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art/Pony-POV-Series-Shining-Armor-15-Part-3-401412586

Next Chapter: http://alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art/Pony-POV-Series-Shining-Armor-16-Part-2-406270535

First Chapter: http://alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art/Pony-POV-Series-Fluttershy-FlutterCruel-Pearls-260092460

Bonus Chapter: http://alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art/Healing-Pony-POV-Sapphire-Shores-402867230


MLP: FiM is copyright of Hasbro

MUSIC RECS
= Part 1 =
Inspirational Dream
Dare To Be Stupid, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Dare To Be Stupid
X-Folders
X-Files Theme, Mark Snow, The X-Files
Ranger and Sunset's Duet
Guide You Home (I Would Die for You), Gabriel Mann and Rebecca Kneubuhl, Legend of Spyro Dawn of the Dragon
Cadence and Shining's Unplanned Duet
The Ballad of Jerimiah Peacekeeper, Poets of the Fall, Temple of Thought (Shining Armor's Theme)



Cover Image By Kendell2

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